GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Melvin "Skip" Alston has resigned as chairman of the board at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro. His resignation is effective September 16, 2013. However, he will still serve as a board member.

"It would be in the best interest of myself, and also the museum, for someone to have more time to devote to the museum and give a new vision to the museum," Alston said. "It's going to require a lot of time and commitment."

Alston said he will be busy with lots of business commitments and new projects over the next year. Plus, he is considering running for a statewide or congressional office.

"It was my baby. It's a grown child now. It's walking and able to stand on its own. So, I feel good that I have been able to nurture this baby, so to speak," Alston said.

Alston and Earl Jones founded the museum in 1993. The museum occupies the F.W. Woolworth building on Elm Street, which houses the original lunch counter where four students from North Carolina A&T State University staged a sit-in on February 1, 1960.

"We opened the museum on a shoestring budget. We have been struggling for the past three years. If we have to struggle a little bit more, then we will struggle. But, the museum is not going to close. It's going to be open. It's going to be funded," Alston said.

Tuesday night, Alston plans to ask the Greensboro City Council to provide additional funding for the museum. "If we can support the Performing Arts Center, to the tune of $30 million, I'm quite sure the council can find the logic and the benefit of funding the civil rights museum $1.5 million."

Previously, Alston served five terms as a Guilford County Commissioner.